Puncture-proof pneumatic tire



Patented July 7, 1,896i

VBY

ATTOR N EY (No Model.) Y

A. L. SMITH. PUNGTURB PROOF PNEUl'MIA'lG TIRE. No. 563,691.

lillllmxllllllll!! Illllallnlxxllllxlllll llrllilv L -1 -i m WTNESSESUNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

ABRAM L. SMITH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE LONG ISLANDRUBBER AND CYCLE COMPANY, OF NEV YORK.

PU NCTU RE-PROOF PN EU MATIC TlRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,691, dated July 7,1896.

Application filed February 18| 1896. Serial No. 579,751. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it knownv that I, ABRAM L. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Puncture-Proof PneumaticTires, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to devices for pre venting the puncturing of thein dated chamher of a pneumatic wheel-tire by sharp bodies, such astacks, bits of glass, rizo., with which a wheel may come in contact uponthe road.

The object of the invention is to provide a cheap, effective, andeasilyapplied device adapted to be inserted either inside or outside ofthe wheel-tire.

The invention consists of a puncture-proof strip built up of a series otplates of various sizes and located in a suitable sheathing or envelopof flexible material in such a manner that the strip will be resilientand responsive to compressions to which a wheeltire is ordinarilysubjected, and provided with means whereby it may accommodate itself toditl'erent lengths of tires, or to variations in length due to thedegree of inflation of the tire.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan of a number of metallicstrips, showing the relative positions they occupy in the flexibleenvelop. Fig. 2 is a plan ot a section of the strip, showing elasticsections. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through one of the elasticjoints.

The major part of the strip is made up of two pieces of cloth sewedtogether along certain lines in order to form pockets, and in thesepockets are placed metallic plates to form the armor preventing thepuneturing of the tire.

Referring to the drawings by letter, a. and ct represent the two layersof cloth or ilexible material of which the envelop is made. Between themis placed a series of metallic plates l) in line with eac-h other andwith their ends located a short distance apart. In the spaces betweenthe ends of these plates one or more comparatively small plates c arelocated. The

two layers of cloth are then stitched together, the lines of thestitching passing close to and around all of the edges of the severalplates. This forms anumber ot pockets, each of which contains a metallicplate. Underneath each of the spaces in which are located the plates c Iplace an overlapping plate (Z, which extends across the entire space,overlappin g the ends of plates l). The plates d are inclosed in aseparate small envelop of cloth, the edges of which are sewed to themain envelop. The strip thus completed forms a very flexiblepuncture-proof structure. By using two'or three of the plates c in thespace between plates b a veryilexible joint is obtained, and

this joint is eftectually protected against` puncture by the plate (Z.In order to make this strip fit various sizes oi' tires, or to providefor inequalities in the construction, tre. I propose to insert in thestrip at one or more points a section e of doubled elastic material,such as elastic webbing, the edges of which are seWed to the respectiveseparated ends of the strip. To prevent punctu ring these el asticsections, I place inside ot them a metallic plate d.

As a modification of the means for enabling the strip to lengthen lmayinclose a metallic plate f in a small separate envelop and sew to itsends short sections j j" of elastic webbin g, and then sew theextremities of the elastic webbing to the main flexible envelop atpoints each side oil' any joint or point in the main strip where twoplates b come together.

It is understoothof course, that wherever these elastic sections areinserted the :main envelop is severed, and in the arrangement last abovedescribed the platef bridges the severed ends, and their movementstoward and away from each other are permitted by the elasticity of thetwo sections j" f.

The puncture-proof portion of the strip ei;- tends, as will be observed,through the ceuter, leaving the side fiaps a', which may be cemented tothe tire, to hold the strip in place. These side strips are, however,not essential to the invention. i

l/Vhile I have described the various pochets in the strip as beingformed by stitching,

it is, to be understood that cement, or any other means of securing thecloth together, may be adopted.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml.- A puncture-proof stripfor pneumatic tires consisting of a flexible envelop divided into longand short pockets located in line with each other, metallic plateslocated in and iitting said pockets, the shorter plates being insertedbetween the separated ends of the longer plates, and a bridging-plateoverlapping the adjacent ends of the longer plates, and backing up theshorter ones, substantially as described.

2. A puncture-proof strip for pneumatic Vitnesses:

WM. A. RosENBAUi/r, FRANK S. OBER.

